Star Wars EP X: The Lost Tribe
by masquradeXD
Summary: 20 years after the battle on Exegol and the final destruction of the Sith, the galaxy experiences a peace it has not felt in centuries. Jedi Master Rey Skywalker lives on Tatooine with the family she's always wanted. But when a darkness long forgotten awakes, it is up to her, her friends, and three new Jedi-In-Training to save the galaxy from succumbing to the Dark Side once more.
1. Chapter 1

A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away...

**STAR WARS EP X: The Lost Tribe**

Twenty Years after the final defeat of  
**DARTH SIDIOUS** and the death of **BEN SOLO**.

The Galaxy is in a time of Peace.  
The New Galactic Republic led by Chancellor  
**SOLANA LAW**, controls the Core Worlds, the Colonies  
And the Inner Rim. What was now the Resistance  
Has now become part of the Republic Military  
Led by General **POE DAMERON** and  
Jedi Knight **FINN SKYWALKER** who maintain the peace.

Believing the time for war is at an end  
Retired Jedi Master **REY SKYWALKER** now lives in Tatooine  
Where new responsibilities have occupied her time

A number of days ago a team sent to Kesh, a long isolated, made contact  
With the Republic sending out a distress signal  
However unbeknownst the rest of the galaxy, an old darkness threatens  
To awake. 

Many things in the galaxy changed. Not Tatooine however, it remained sandy and desolate, yet quiet and peaceful.

The Republic was now in charge and respected by most. There was no tyrannical government threatening the lives, no powerful Dark Side users expecting to kill Jedi. There were only two known Jedi in the galaxy now.

One was known as Rey Skywalker. Almost two decades ago the force had awoken in her when a young defected Stormtrooper ran into her life and sent it spinning from that of a starving Scavenger to that of the last Jedi.

Nowadays, the Last Jedi title was mostly just for honor. There hadn't been any large conflict she had to be involved in in a while. Now, a fully grown woman, one having harnessed her ability in the Force for the most part, enough to be able to call herself a master. Her long, jet black hair was in a ponytail, she dressed in robes similar to those Luke wore on Ahch-To, with a hood over her head.

After finally defeating the Dark Lord Darth Sidious once and for all, that very same defected Stormtrooper, who had become a hero in the Resistance had revealed that he too felt strong in the Force. Together, they had spent years training with each other, growing in their power in their Force.

The thought of starting a new academy for Force users crossed their minds, however other plans had gotten in the way.

Entering the homestead that had once belonged to Luke Skywalker, her former master, and his late uncle and aunt, she began to look around. In the past two decades she had made it her home, it was a place Luke and Leia had told her about. Somewhere she could become part of the family after this war was over.

Not long after, Finn had joined her. Together, they had spent many years together. While she didn't tend to fight wars much nowadays, Finn remained at the forefront of the military, wanting to make sure that the new Republic Military didn't fall into the same mistakes as the last one, and attempt to prevent them becoming another First Order as well.

She respected that.

The homestead was quiet, however, all too quiet. Rey raised an eyebrow, putting down her bag of supplies and groceries that she had just gotten from the nearest outpost. "Hello?" She called out.

Out of different spots in the courtyard of the homestead, three hooded figures stepped out, each wielding a wooden weapon.

A smirk grew on the former scavengers face. "Are you sure this is what you want? It seems pretty unfair…" Her hand reached out, a wooden staff flying into it within seconds. "For the three of you."

One of the figures, slightly taller than Rey, attacked her. Offensive movement and attacking seemed to be the name of the game for this hooded figure. Slashing quickly and strongly, it was clear he had prowess. However between dodging and blocking, Rey managed to jab at his stomach, sending him stumbling back.

Another figure, arguably the smallest of the figures performed a superhuman jump, slashing it at Rey. She made quick work of him, sweeping him off his feet.

Lastly, the third figure was only slightly smaller than Rey, and slightly skinnier than the first hooded figure. This figure was more defensive, she blocked the hits, dodged gracefully until Rey put her hand out and sent her flying back with a force push.

The three figures groaned, seeking to stand up. The hoods became off. Three children were under the robes.

The taller one was an older boy. He had light brown skin and curly black hair that almost resembled a woolish texture. At the top there were smaller twists growing out, similar to Finn's during the final stand against Palpatine. He was only slightly taller than Rey, and physically quite fit. Years having spent on Tatooine, helping Rey work on the homestead, as well as clearly trained. He was around sixteen years of age.

"Kanan, you're quick and strong. I'll give you that." Said Rey with a grin. "But you can't take me on by yourself yet, not without the help of your brother and sister."

She would turn to the smallest figure. A small boy, who looked similar to his older brother. His hair was much longer and much curlier. Almost like a small afro. "Ben." She paused and looked at the boy, who was turning ten that very day. "Your mastery of the Force is happening quicker than expected, birthday boy. Next time, however, don't let your older siblings talk you into something that'll get you hurt."

Lastly she looked at the girl. "And you, little lady," She said. "Need to stop being so scared of your own power." The girl was also light brown, her hair, much the same texture of her brothers, was tied up in two puffs on each side of her head. She had a determined look on her face, much like her mothers, but she had her father's smile. They all did. She couldn't have been more than fifteen.

"But mom-" The girl began to protest.

"Aayla, you have a lot of power, but it's going to work against you if you're scared of it." Rey replied. "Now all of you get ready for the birthday dinner. Your father and the others should be here shortly."

As they all began to rush in, little Ben ran into the arms of his mother. Climbing her so that he could sit on her back. She looked at him lovingly and chuckled.

During their time in Tatooine, Finn and Rey had these three children. All three named after a Jedi that had spoken to her in her hour of need, that had given her the strength to fight back against her grandfather.

It was scary to think of, that while her and Finn had adopted the name Skywalker, the closest thing they'd had to family in their lives except with each other, her and her children were Palpatines, while Finn still knew nothing of his own heritage.

"Mom." Kanan said as he walked next to her into their home. "You know how I was asking you about that thing…"

Rey set little Ben down as she entered the kitchen, Kanan following hot on her trail. "What thing?" She asked.

"You know…" He said, his head motioning over towards the weapon clipped on Rey's side. "That."

Rey looked down and then looked back up at her oldest son, a small grin appearing on her face. "Oh, right, you wanted a lightsaber now, did you? Do you think you're ready for it?"

"I'm sixteen now, Mom. The younglings used to get them a lot earlier."

"But you're not a Jedi, Kanan." She said sternly. "And these are not the days of the Old Republic."

Kanan sighed, visibly disappointed and maybe even frustrated. "You and dad can't be the only Jedi forever."

"And we won't be. But right now, your father is the only one I trust enough to be a Jedi. Maybe in the future, when you're older-"

"And what happens when the galaxy needs people like us?"

"Then your father and I will be there."

"And what happens when the two of you can't fight anymore? Or worse, when you two aren't enough?"

"Then we'll lean on those we trust." A voice said. Rey and Kanan turned to face the doorway. In came an older man, about nearly his mid-forties. The military suit that designated a Republic General, a Glie-44 blaster pistol on one side, and on another side, a lightsaber, constructed with old parts and material from an old First Order riot stick. The man was dark skinned, a confident smile on his face, hair shorter now than it had been back in his younger days.

"Dad!" Ben exclaimed as he ran over to him, giving him a hug. It was clear they hadn't seen each other in a number of days. The life of a General did seem to be difficult, and while there were plenty of issues in the galaxy that needed intervention, there was no large scale conflict, which mean that every few days Finn.

"Where's my favorite niece?" Said another voice appearing behind him. That one was the voice of old Poe Dameron. It was hard to tell whether that man had aged or not. In face, he seemed almost the same, his hair had become a color of slightly gray and black, age was catching up with Poe Dameron, however he still looked as good as can be.

Aayla would stand up, grinning and running to hug the man she knew as her uncle. "And where's the birthday boy?" Behind Poe Dameron, in came Commander Jannah Calrissian, and right behind her General Rose Tico.

Finn would look between his wife and son and raise an eyebrow. "What's going on here?"

"The galaxy is doomed, that's what." Said Kanan as he began to walk out of the kitchen.

"You know sometimes I wish I would've gotten on you about your mouth a lot sooner." Finn raised an eyebrow, watching his son exit, as he walked towards Rey, sharing a kiss with her. As soon as it broke off, he spoke. "Not even a 'Hello, dad' 'It's been a couple of days, dad, how are you?' What's his problem?"

"He really wants a lightsaber." Rey replied.

"Does he not know how incredibly hard it was to find my Kyber Crystal?" Replied the Former Stormtrooper. "He can have mine."

Rey shook her head. "No, Finn. You're a Jedi, just like me. You need your weapon."

"As much a pain in the ass as it's going to be, we can also look into finding a crystal. There has to be one out there somewhere." He replied. "Or we can always unbury a secret or two."

Rey looked at him for a moment, confused as to what he was implying. His head motioned towards the exterior of the house. It was then that she realized what it was her husband had been implying.

Once again, it didn't seem like Rey agreed. "I don't think he's ready."

"I mean… Just because he can't kick your ass, doesn't mean he can't kick anyone's ass." Replied Finn jokingly.

"He's my son, I'm well aware of whose ass he can and can't kick. You should probably start watching out, he's catching up to you, old-timer." She replied with a snarky tone.

"Oh, it's like that?" Replied Finn, challengingly.

"Uh, yeah, I think it is." Replied the former scavenger from Jakku.

A meal was laid out on a large round table in which Finn, Rey, the three children, as well as Jannah, Rose, and Poe all ate and conversed.

In the past twenty years, Poe, who'd been left in charge of the Resistance after Leia's death had made the Resistance into the military force for the New Republic. Solana Law was the leader of the Republic, and by definition the boss of Finn and Poe. Of course, she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, a charismatic leader that the galaxy trusted.

He and Zori Bliss had a son shortly after the battle had ended. Kes Dameron II, named after his grandfather, was, much like his father, a talented Pilot. One of the brightest students in the Republic academy.

Jannah Calrissian and Rose Tico had found love in each other, and while they both worked for the Republic military, they had made a home with each other on Coruscant. Jannah, who had been revealed to be Force Sensitive had received training from both Finn and Rey, and while capable enough to call herself a Padawan, she wasn't as dedicated to the art as her friends were.

Rose worked closely with Finn and Poe, as well as became the bridge point between the politics of the Republic as well as the Military force.

"Aalya, kid," Poe said as he took a sip of what was no doubt some form of alcoholic beverage. "I'm telling you, you're a gifted pilot, even better than your brother."

"Hey!" Protested Kanan.

"Oh, calm down, you're good with a blaster everyone's got their thing." Replied Poe, jokingly.

"He's right, son." Said Finn. "When your mom and I met, we stole the Millennium Falcon. I wouldn't have been able to get out of there without her flying."

"Nor I without your father's shooting." She replied.

"I also got to escape on a ship with your dad, he never brings that up, though." Interjected Poe, to which the others laughed.

After a moment of silence, Aayla shrugged. "I don't know, I like it here with Mom and Ben." Kanan was ready to protest, but instead just sighed and let it go.

"Yeah, I understand that too." Finn replied. He wasn't around as much as he wished he could be, but always took any opportunity to see them whenever he could, even if he had to feign sickness.

"As soon as we figure out what the hell happened to Gold Squadron in Kesh we'll have a lot more free time." Said Rose.

"What's happening in Kesh?" Asked Rey, looking over at Finn, whose eyes widened as he realized what he had done.

"You didn't tell her?" Jannah asked, looking over at Finn.

"Give me a break, Jannah, I got here the same time you did."

"Well, now I'm a bit worried, Finn." Said Rey, the tone of irony in her voice cutting harder than any lightsaber ever could. "What's this about?"

There was silence in the room for a moment before Finn sighed and looked at Kanan. "Can you take your brother and sister outside for a moment?"

Kanan raised an eyebrow. "No, I wanna hear about what's happening."

"Excuse me, did you just say no to me?" Finn asked.

Rey began to interject, "Finn-"  
"Why do we have to step out? Don't we have a right to know if something dangerous is happening?"

"Kriff, Kanan, you have some serious cheek to complain to your mom about how you're ready for a lightsaber when you can't even do one simple thing without complaining!"

There was a moment of silence, in which everyone at the dinner table had not expected that reaction. Kanan's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape, the shock and slight frustration at his father not only listening to him, but humiliating him for his dream.

" Finn. " Rey said sternly, looking at him dead in the eyes.

"We'll uh… Go into the lab and check on the droids." Aayla said, standing up. She picked her smaller brother up, letting him climb on her back as she nudged her older brother to follow.

"Kanan- I'm sorry I didn't m-" Their father began to apologize, realizing that he may have actually hurt his feelings.

But without an answer, Kanan walked off with his siblings, out of their little Tatooine home. As soon as they were gone, the silence ended and Rey spoke.

"I know, I know." Finn said before anyone could say anything.

"Go ahead and explain, then." Rey said, her patience wearing thin. As the other four looked at each other, Finn sighed.

"A couple of days ago the Republic got sent a distress call from the planet Kesh."

"Kesh? Hasn't that planet been isolated for… like… ever?"

"Yeah." Poe said. "That's why we were surprised. We sent Gold Squadron to see what was happening."

"And?"

"Gold Squadron lost communication with us shortly after getting there." Finn said. "So Jannah and I took a Star Cruiser and as soon as we dropped out of hyperspace we felt it…"

"Felt what?"

"Cold." Jannah said. "A cold like I've never felt before."

"Like the dark side?" Asked Rey, her eyes now widening with deep thought.

"Exactly like it." Finn replied. "But I've felt the dark side before, there was something different here. Like it was around the entire planet but it was weak."

There was a moment of shock as Rey began to think. Nothing in the Jedi texts and teachings she had said anything about a Force sensitive planet.

"What did you do?" Asked Rey.

"We turned the ship around." Admitted Finn. "As soon as we felt it, I gave the order to return. We're going back soon, but I told them I'm not going to the planet without you."

"When are we going?" The Jedi Master replied without hesitation. If there was even an ounce of darkness, they had to deal with it immediately.

"We can head for Coruscant in the morning and be on our way to Kesh by noon." Replied Finn.


	2. Chapter 2

Kanan sat at the edge of the dugout in the morning. He watched as his mother and father exited their homestead, carrying equipment with them. There was something in the air, he felt it. It was almost dreadful. These things tended to happen when he focused on the Force too much. It spoke to him, it told him his parents were headed toward danger.

"We'll be back as soon as possible." Rey said as she walked past him, headed towards the ship that Jannah, Poe, and Rose were waiting in, the Millennium Falcon.

"Please." Kanan replied. He leaned down and kissed his mother's forehead. After him, Finn walked past and made eye contact with his son.

It was less emotional, not just due to the small argument that had happened the night before, but also because he was used to seeing Finn leave on his missions and for him not to come back for a while.

Finn walked up to his son, looking at him before giving him a nod and he nodded back. "Take care of your brother and sister, we'll be back soon."

"I got it." Replied Kanan. With that, they exchanged one glance once more, Finn's being that of a loving and regretful father, and Kanan's being the one of realizing his father could sometimes be an asshole.

After a few moments, the Millennium Falcon was off and they left, leaving Kanan and his siblings on Tatooine.

On the Millennium Falcon, Poe and Finn sat in the cockpit. Their old friend Chewbacca was no longer with them, having sacrificed his life during a mission in the past when Kanan was still just ten years old.

"Hey, Finn." Said Poe Dameron. It was sometimes hard for Finn to remind himself that Poe was at the very head of a military force, with Finn being his right hand man. They still acted the same way they had when they met. "We've been friends for a long time, yeah?"

"I'm willing to say you're my first friend, Poe." Replied Finn with a chuckle.

"Then can I give you some advice?"

Finn raised a curious eyebrow at the General.

"Give the kid a break every now and then, he just wants to be like you and Rey."

That sentence was very impactful. It felt like something he needed to hear, yet something he didn't want to hear.

"Are you trying to tell me how to raise my son?"

"Don't give me that, Finn, I love the kid like he was my own."

"But he's not."

"Yeah, genius, that's why I'm telling you to ease up on him before you push him away."

There was a moment of silence. Finn remembered Kylo Ren, the son of Han Solo. The man who killed his own father. It was clear, Han Solo had never been a perfect father, but he loved his son more than anything in the galaxy. How had that ended? With his sons lightsaber through his chest.

"You might be right." He said, "He's just got such a smart mouth."

"Yeah, I wonder where he gets that from."

The two friends chuckled with each other as the ship continued to fly through Hyperspace.

Back on Tatooine, Kanan Skywalker made his way through Mos Eisley, looking to get some food with the credits his parents had left him. He was not unused to being in charge of his siblings. Thankfully, Aayla was the smartest of the three and often made the work a lot easier for him. Then there was Ben, who was always eager to help.

Watching people play pazaak through the windows of the cantina, he watched for a moment before continuing on his path.

"Pondo!" He heard. "You are out of your mind if I think I'm letting you take The Ghost while I'm alive."

Turning around, he would see a man standing at the exit of one of the cantinas. An older man, about in his fifties with green hair and eyes. It was uncommon to see that in most humans unless they were mixed with another alien race.

Pondo, however, was a dark blue hutt, followed by a squad of his goons. Beginning to speak in Huttese, which was something that Kanan had managed to pick up on his years here, he raised an eyebrow as the Hutt said That ship is an Icon from the war, if you don't come up with my money soon, I think it'll fetch a great price.

The war? Kanan thought. Which war?

Whatever it seemed like, the green-haired man seemed to be at his wits end. "I promise you that you'll get your money, Pondo but if you lay one hand on that ship-"

Immediately, all the mercenaries behind Pondo pointed their weapons at him. Kanan reacted quickly, running to the side of the green haired man and waving his hand. "This is not the green-haired man you are looking for."

The Mercenaries repeated his sentence and pointed their guns towards the ground, which left Pondo confused, and in turn, confused Kanan.

"Jeedai?" Pondo asked, confused.

"Apparently not." Kanan replied sarcastically. "But I can hurt you like one."

The Hutt grumbled before turning back to the green-haired man. I will be seeing you soon, Syndulla.

As they left, the Green-haired man, who had just been called Syndulla looked over at Kanan. "That was a pretty neat trick there. Most Force-Sensitives don't know that."

"I guess I'm not most force-sensitives." Replied the much younger boy.

"What's your name, kid?" Asked the older man, curious about him. Of course, Kanan knew better than to trust a complete stranger, especially one that owed money to a hutt. Yet, the Force seemed to tell him that this man had no bad intentions with him.

"Kanan." He replied.

The man known as Syndulla was silent, as if that was not a name he had expected to hear. After a moment of silence, he broke a small grin. "Kanan, huh?" He replied. "What's your last name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Humor me, will ya?"

Kanan hesitated before sighing. "Skywalker."

That name definitely surprised Syndulla. "Skywalker? Like… As in, Luke Skw-"

"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you."

"Okay, okay, I'll leave it at that." Syndulla grinned. "My name is Jacen Syndulla, nice to meet you, kid."

Kanan regarded the man for a moment before grabbing his things again. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Syndulla, it really is, but I gotta get going."

"Alright, kid. Thanks for the help. If you ever need it, you can find me here at some point. I always come back here."

With that, Kanan chuckled and hopped onto his speeder, exiting.

In Hyperspace, three Republic Star Cruisers, all three being MC 85's travelled together. In the middle flew The Organa, a star cruiser named after the late General of the Resistance Leia Organa. On her right were The Legislator and on her left was the Holdo.

Unlike their Resistance days, in the past 20 years, they had created an armada for themselves. Of course, they didn't know what to expect when coming upon Kesh.

At the head of the stood Jedi Master Rey Skywalker, her heart beating rapidly. Finn had explained that it was upon dropping from hyperspace that they felt the freezing cold feeling take over their body. Any second, Rey was due to experience this for herself.

Next to her stood Rose Tico, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, Rey." She told her friend. They hadn't met under the most comfortable of circumstances, but once Rey had gotten to know Rose, she found a loyal friend that she loved just as much as she did the rest of her family.

Rey gave a deep sigh. "I don't know, Rose…" She began to say, staring out into hyperspace. "I'm starting to think I may have made a mistake."

Her friend raised a confused eyebrow. "With what?"

"Finn and Jannah said they felt darkness the minute they dropped out of space. What if what's down there is so strong that we can't go at it alone?" The Jedi's jaw moved slightly. "What if for the past twenty years what I should have been doing is training the next generation of Jedi?"

Rose was silent for a moment as she began to understand what it was her friend was going through. "If anyone deserved a break it was you, Rey. Nobody blames you for just wanting to live a peaceful life."

"With great power comes great responsibility." She replied.

"And you held up your end of the bargain. You killed the Emperor, you freed the galaxy." The former mechanic replied.

Rey was silent for a moment, she was still worried, but she had to admit that her friend's words eased her mind.

"Not just that," Rose continued. "But whatever it is, we're all together. If we were enough to take out the First Order, we're enough to do this."

With one last look, she regarded her friend. That was until Finn, Poe, and Jannah all entered the helm of the ship as well. "We're about to drop out of hyperspace." Poe told them.

Finn walked over, holding his wife's hand. Within seconds, the bright blue lights of hyperspace dimed as they were once again faced with the vastness of Space. Below them however, they saw Kesh, a planet in wild space. For so long, no transmission had come from there. They had been made contact with a couple times thousands of years ago, but in between the fact that Space was a large place, and the fact that it had become commonplace to not bother Kesh, there wasn't much to go off of.

Immediately the three trained force sensitives, Jannah, Finn, and Rey all felt it. It was as one of those chills that made your neck hairs stand up came from inside your own body. The feeling was not pleasant at all.

"You weren't kidding…" Rey was the first one to say, as she stepped towards the glass. Her hand touched it as she looked down at the planet.

"Right?" Jannah asked. "But what is it?"

"Nothing good, I bet." Finn answered.

"I felt this once before." She replied. "When I touched Anakin's lightsaber… But- This. This is so much more."

"That doesn't sound good at all." Poe replied.

"Turn back." Rey said.

"What?" Poe asked in disbelief. "Rey, we already turned back once we can't do it again."

"You don't understand!" Rey replied. "There's something down there, something that we're not ready to face."

"Gold Squadron's been gone for days, they have families, friends, we can't go back without an ans-"

Poe was interrupted by the sound of an explosion. The argument quickly stopped as the five turned to look to their side, the Holdo had just taken a hit but the shields were protecting it. "Did… Did they just fire at us?"

Finn stepped up to the glass. "What the-" Another hit, this time the Organa had been hit, shaking the group.

Then another hit, this time the Legislator had been hit. There seemed to be no damage to the ships, only the shields. Then there was silence for a number of moments.

"Oh no." Rose said.

"What?" Jannah asked.

Her face began to change in panic as she looked at her friends. "We have to move, NOW!" She ordered.

"Rose, what's going on? It was just three torp-" Finn began to say before he got cut off.

"Those weren't torpedo's Finn, those were ballistic SD's." She replied as she moved towards the controls.

"What are those?" Rey asked.

"Shield destroyers…" Jannah replied, then it hit Finn, who had also had Stormtrooper training. They were taught the grimiest of tactics.

All around the three ships, their shields began to come crashing down into space as if windows whose glass had just shattered. That was because SD's were infused with nanobytes that could infect a shield till it collapsed. The good thing about the use of Nanobytes was that they made the Ballistic SD's pretty rare.

Poe's eyes widened.

"Sir, something has just dropped out of hyperspace!" One of the men at the controls said to Poe.

"What?" Replied Poe.

They couldn't see, but behind them was a Mega-Class Dreadnought, ebony black, one that looked even bigger than Snoke's supremacy, and with ease sent three shots straight to the back of each cruiser, sending crashing to the planet below.

Back on the Organa, the five friends staggered to their feet. "Rey, you need to get on one of the escape pods!" Finn said, grabbing his wife's hand.

She wrestled out of his hand. "I'm not going anywhere. You need to."

"That's definitely not happening." He replied.

The two looked at each other for a moment, a loving look. "Together?" Rey asked.

"Together." He agreed.

"Don't count me out." Poe told them.

"Me neither." Jannah said.

"I'm with you guys till the end of the line." Rose joined them.

Poe looked over at the people in the command room. "Everyone who wants to escape, get in a escape pod now and get out of here. We won't judge you, if you're with us, strap in, it's going to be a rough landing."


	3. Chapter 3

Jacen Syndulla sat in a Mos Eisley cantina in one of the booths, sipping his drink. His feet kicked up, he stared at the boy in front of him. Slightly tan skin, about nineteen years of age. He had green hair. They were playing Pazaak with each other.

"It's funny you think you can beat your old man at this game." Jacen said with a grin, looking at the boy. "Your move Korbin."

Korbin Syndulla smirked as he set down a +2 card, surprising his father, finishing the game. "You wanna repeat that, pops?" He asked.

Jacen watched, bewildered for a moment before he chuckled.

To his right, he noticed a group of five people enter. All dressed darkly, even though their faces were revealed. No scary robes, more like black leather jackets and pants, blasters strapped to their sides, and as Jacen looked even closer, he realized, they had lightsabers.. They were led by a tall, pale, blonde woman. "Barkeep." She said sternly.

The Aqualish barkeep turned towards her. He murmured something that sounded disrespectful.

"How dare you…" Said a smaller girl next to the tall woman, she was smaller, hazel colored hair with dark brown eyes. She seemed to reach for her own lightsaber.

"Calm yourself, Vestara." Said the older woman.

"Master Rhea, he disrespected you." She replied.

"We are in this man's establishment, Rhea, he can do as he pleases." The woman known as Reha said. She would turn back to the Barkeep, giving him a slightly mischievous grin.

"Now, sir, could you tell me where I could find the Skywalker ranch?" Her hand slightly waved on her side. Something which Jacen saw, especially after seeing the lightsabers and hearing the name Skywalker mentioned.

The Aqualish Barkeep seemed to respond with instructions. "Thank you." She replied, and with that, the group exited.

"Hey, kid. We gotta go." Jacen said to Korbin.

Ben Skywalker awoke in the night, he was feeling cold. As he looked around his bedroom, he didn't feel right. As he woke up, BB-8 rolled up to him.

"I had the weirdest dream, BB-8." He said, sitting up on his bed. "What time is it?"

BB-8 responded with a sound.

"Midnight?" Ben replied. "Any news from mom and dad?" BB-8 replied with a negatory sound. "Welp, might as well get some blue milk before I go back to sleep."

Ben's mouth moved to the side, slightly disappointed before he stood up. He got up, ready to go to the kitchen for his treat, followed by the small droid. However, as he walked, something felt different. As if something was calling out to him.

_Child…_

He looked around. "Hello?" He called out.

_Child… You're in danger…_

"Who's there?" He called out again. BB-8 made a sound of confusion, looking up at the young boy. The voice of an old man ringing in his ears.

_Listen to the force, my boy…_

The confusion was on the small boy's face, brushing his eyes as he scratched the back of his curly haired head. Then for a moment, he began to feel it, as he closed his eyes once again, deciding to listen to the voice. However, this wasn't the feeling he expected. He felt darkness, it was drawing nearer.

Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning around, he saw Kanan.

"What are you doing awake?" He asked his younger brother scoldingly. Before Ben could even answer, the sound of a lightsaber turned on. They both looked at each other, confused. It didn't sound like it came from inside the house, but just right outside it.

"What was that?" Ben asked.

Then the sound of another one turned on, and another one.

"Why are you two up and making so much noise?" Aayla said, coming from around the corner. Two more lightsabers fired up. Before they could even answer her, they saw her freeze, as if something was holding her down.

"Aayla?" Kanan asked. The door flew open, crashing with the might of the force. In came the pale blonde woman known as Rhea, along with her follower Vestara. Behind them were two men, one human and one a species Kanan hadn't ever seen before, with light purple skin, and a woman, a red twi'lek with dark marks around her body.

Kanan stepped in front of Ben, protecting his little brother against the five red lightsaber wielding intruders. He'd heard of Red Lightsabers, he'd never seen them in person. His heart began to beat.

Ben knew now what it was he was hearing. A warning against these people, but from who?

Aayla who seemed stuck, gritted her teeth and fought out of the force grip on her. "Oh my, such resistance!" Rhea said, rather amused. "You must be the babies? Now where are mummy and daddy dearest?"

"Who are you?" Kanan asked, backing up as they neared him. Aayla joined her brother in protecting their youngest. "And what do you want?" She asked.

"I'm merely someone here to continue the cycle of the Force." Replied Rhea. "I am everything you're not ready to face. I am Sith."

"In your dreams, our mother killed the last Sith." Rey replied.

"Your mother killed a pretender, an imposter!" Rhea snapped as she replied. "That would-be Sith knew nothing. I am the True Sith."

As she spoke, Ben, behind his siblings would turn his head towards the kitchen. He would focus intensely, all types of silverware, plates, and cups would begin to float.

"Right now you sound kind of like a grumpy old lady." Aayla replied.

Vestara would grit her teeth and raise her lightsaber, as she did, Ben sent all of the floating things flying straight towards the group of so called "True Sith". As they were distracted, some getting hit or some getting dodged, Ben particularly being pleased at hitting Vestara in the face with a plate.

The three Skywalker siblings ran towards the other side, Kanan without hesitation pushed his fist out and with a strong gust of Force power tore a wall down, allowing them to exit their house.

"After them!" Rhea commanded. Her and Vestara ran towards the giant hole Kanan Skywalker had just created, while the two men and the female Twi'lek ran towards the entrance they entered from.

Attempting to corner them in the courtyard, Kanan used the Force to steal a blaster from one of the purple skinned male. He shot at them, but they deflected the blast like it was nothing.

"Looks like there's little left for you to do." Rhea said. "It seems your parents are not here."

"Your head would be rolling on our floor right now if they were." Aayla replied. As they spoke, Ben continued to hear voices, this time, the pull coming from somewhere in the walls of the dugout of their homestead. He listened around.

"Perhaps so," Replied Rhea. "But they're not here to protect you."

"What makes you think we need protection?" Said Kanan, shooting at Rhea, who deflected it with no difficulty.

"Please spare me the fake bravery, child." Rhea said. They continued speaking, unaware of little Ben in the back, focusing on what it was in the walls calling to him. The force was strong with him. There began a small shaking in the sandy and rocky walls.

"Darth Xal, if you and your apprentice Raas would do the honors?" Asked Rhea.

The man, a dark skinned man, long dreaded hair, muscular and with bright orange eyes, stepped forward. The younger purple man stepped forward with him. They raised their lightsabers as they began to near the siblings. Kanan continued to shoot but to no avail.

Suddenly, something would burst out of the wall. Sand and rocks flying every as everyone put their hands up for cover.

Kanan turned around to see that Ben had caused it. He wasn't going to complain, considering that it had just saved them from certain death.

As Kanan looked up, he noticed something out of the ordinary had fallen out of the sandy walls of the dugout. Looking to the ground, he saw a silver hilt, the bottom of it having a number of small black vertical lines. There was an uneven line going through the hilt, as if the hilt had once been cut and repaired, put back together.

As Aayla rubbed the dust out of her eyes, she would see something herself. Another silver hilt, with a smaller interior cylinder of gold. The top of the hilt having a skinny neck design.

The older siblings looked at each other as they realized what these things were. Lightsabers.

Putting their hands out, each of them summoned the lightsabers towards them. Ben watched them, stepping slightly back, still feeling the pull of the Force to take him somewhere.

Kanan and Aayla ignited each lightsaber, both of them emitting a bright blue blade as the Sith stared them down.

"Well," Rhea said. "It seems this will be more fun than anticipated."

Without warning, Vestara would dash, with superhuman speed and slash as Aayla, who would lock the hit. Vestara seemed only a couple years older than her, maybe a year older than Kanan.

However, Aayla was her mother's daughter, just the sheer determination to protect her younger brother was giving her the bravery to go toe to toe with the young Sith girl. "Your form is not bad, I see your mother has taught you well."

"Let me show you just how well she taught me." Aayla would say. Rey and Finn had begun training her when she had turned nine. The same ages they had begun training Kanan and Ben. They had a process for it, when she had begun, it had been a lot of meditation. Combat training was small but sure.

She favored more the use of Niman, something her mother also did. Her father prefered the use of Soresu and Shien, considering he was out in the battlefields frontlines more often than not. Ben hadn't really received any other training than the basic Shii-Cho. Kanan, however, had been shown to be a skilled combatant at a young age, being able to go toe to toe with his mother and father for a bit before, he was interested in the form Jedi Master Mace Windu had once created, Vapaad.

The purple skinned apprentice jumped at Kanan, and after a few saber clashes, the eldest Skywalker sibling kicked the apprentice known as Raas in the stomach, and knee'd him in the head, effectively taking him down.

Darth Xal, was a lot harder to fight. Kanan aggressively attacked him, and Xal easily dodged it. The Red Twi'lek jumped to join in, but was sent flying back with Ben's use of the force.

Meanwhile, Vestara and Aayla were engaged in a more evened battle between two gifted young women. Aayla used the force in her fighting, managing to occasionally throw a rock to distract the Sith Apprentice, or using it to flip around.

"You've found a worthy opponent, my apprentice." Rhea would say, watching from behind. "It is only respectful that you show her no mercy."

"Yes, my master." Said Vestara. She fought aggressively, finally knocking Aayla to the ground. With one hit, she slashed the young girls hand clean off.

Aayla yelped in pain, which got the attention of her older brother Kanan, who was struggling against Xal.

Sliding out of the fight, he felt a rush of anger swarm over him. "NO!" He shouted. Just before Vestara would plunge her blade straight through his sister, Kanan's hand lept out and Vestara's eyes widened.

Her face was panicked, as if she was being suffocated. That was because she was. Rhea watched Kanan do so, seeing the anger grow in his eyes.

"Oh my," She smiled, putting a hand out meaning to keep Xal, Raas, and the Red Twi'Lek at bay. "Such anger."

Meanwhile, Ben Skywalker had snuck out of the dugout while his siblings had been fighting, following the voice that had continued to call to him. The ship… He heard. He saw it, the black Freighter, one of a model he had never seen before. He assumed it was the ship the Sith had arrived in.

As he entered, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Other than that it was dark inside, only light by the various computers and stations. However, he followed the voice past some slight corridors, to the center of the ship.

There, he saw a figure, hung inside a cage by his wrists and legs. He was hung by some sort of blue energy field, it was cutting off his ability to escape using the Force. Ben's eyes widened as the fear pumped in his heart.

As he got closer, he realized that it was an old man, who looked stronger than most old men he knew, hanging. A long beard and long white hair, he seemed in pain. "It's you." Ben said.

The man was silent for a second. "What's your name, kid?" He said. "The Force is strong in you."

"Ben Skywalker." He said. The old man chuckled.

"Ben… My name is Ezra. Ezra Bridger." He told him. "And if you let me out, I can help you."

"How can I trust you?"

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true." He said. Ben watched the man for a moment.  
That was when he heard Aayla's piercing scream.

"They're not gonna last much longer, I can help." Ezra said to him. Ben watched for a moment, hesitating, before he looked around at the controls, finding the button and pressing it. The old man would fall to his knees, standing up.

He put his hand down, focusing. Within seconds a lightsaber hilt came from a hidden compartment in the ship and into his hands. "Oh how I missed you, baby." He smirked, emitting a green blade.

"Follow me." He said to the smaller boy, winking at him.

Meanwhile, Kanan held Vestara's life in his grip, the sight of his newly-handless sister on the ground, red blade inches from her heart.

"The dark side is strong with you, my boy." She grinned.

"K-Kanan!" Aayla called out to him, shaking her head. "Don't do it!"

Kanan grit his teeth, and in one move, he threw the girl into the wall, and used the force to call the lightsaber Aayla had been using to his free hand, facing down the three remaining Siths.

That was until a figure jumped in front of him, the old man, greenblade out.

"How did he-" Xal said before looking up to see Ben Skywalker with a mischievous grin, looking down at them.

"Get your sister and go." He said.

"Kanan!" The eldest brother turned to see his brother giving him a thumbs up.

"We have help on the way." Ezra told Kanan.

"Wh- Help? Who are you?"

"No time."

Within seconds, the sight of a VCX-100 Light freighter appeared above them, shooting at the ship the Sith had arrived in. The cargo door opened, and there stood Jacen Syndulla, the man Kanan had earlier.

"Hey, kid!" He called out. "Need any help?"

"Go, I'll hold them off." Ezra said, facing down the Sith.

"Take him down, but don't kill him, we need him." Rhea commanded. They all attacked at the same time, and Ezra held them off. He was an older man, but as Kanan watched, he could see that he was skilled, as well as strong in the Force. He blocked a couple moves and in one fail swoop, he slashed straight through the red Twi'lek, killing her.

Xal and Rhea attacked, both powerful. Whilst he did that, Kanan helped Aayla up, handing her the lightsaber she had picked up with her free hand. They ran out of the dugout, following Ben up into the ship. Ezra dodged a couple of hits from the Sith before pushing them back with the force. Turning and giving one giant force leap onto the entrance of _the Ghost_.

"Korbin, kick it!" Jacen exclaimed. However, the ship began to shake as it was kept in place in the air. As Ezra looked back he saw that the Sith were attempting to hold onto the ship using the force.

"Hey, kid!" He called over to Kanan. "Some help?"

Kanan walked over. "What do I do?"

"Don't get angry, don't think about how scared you are to lose your family." He said, looking at him straight in the eyes. "But think about how much you love, think about how much you want to protect them."

Kanan looked at him, bewildered for a moment. He walked over, following Ezra's movement, pushing back against the Sith, hoping to break the pull. And in following his instructions, he found strength, pushing back against the man.

And then suddenly, the Sith fell back and _the Ghost_ was freed, making for a course straight out of Tatooine.


	4. Chapter 4

As they entered Ezra walked Aayla straight to the medical bay inside the Ghost, which for a moment confused Jacen Syndulla.

"Uhm, hi-" He said putting his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Jacen, I haven't been on this ship for decades but I still know it like the back of my hand." He replied with a hearty laugh. "This girl had her hand cut off by a lightsaber, she needs medical care."

"How do you know my name?" Replied Jacen.

Behind them stood Kanan, holding his younger brother's hand, keeping him close by, both lightsabers that had appeared from the ground within Tatooine clipped on his sides. He walked over, following Ezra.

"Who are you?" Asked Kanan.

"His name's Ezra." Answered Ben.

Jacen was silent for a moment, turning slowly towards the old man. Looking him over for a moment, as his mouth slightly began to drop. "Hey, kid."

"Ezra?" He smiled slightly, seemingly getting emotional. "How-"

"It's a long story, and I'll be happy to explain it once we help the girl." Replied Ezra.

Kanan turned to Ben, telling him to sit down while he followed the older men to the med bay, as they sat Aayla alone. She was taking it like a champ, she seemed in pain, she seemed horrified at having lost her hand.

They began to clean the wound and work on it, bandaging it. Kanan watched, feeling like an utter failure. His sister had almost died, he had been in charge, and now they were on the run from people who wanted to kill them with a bunch of strangers.

Korbin Syndulla's voice would sound through the speakers. "Hey, dad, where should I set course to?"

"Dad? Man, have I been gone a long time." Ezra muttered to himself. "Tell him to set it to Coruscant."

"Got it!" Korbin's voice sounded through the speakers once more.

"You two know each other?" Asked Aayla, looking at her now bandaged arm, trying not to dwell on the fact that she had lost her hand. Considering she had known people who had gotten replacement limbs after losing them, she wasn't too worried about going handless, she just would've never expected her to be someone who lost their hand. .

"I used to travel on this ship with Jacen's parents." Ezra replied. "His old man taught me how to be a Jedi."

"Our parents are the last Jedi." Replied Kanan, skeptically.

"If you really believe that then you're not as smart as you look." Replied the self-proclaimed Jedi.

"Hey, Ezra. Guess what this kid's name is." Jacen said chuckling. Ezra turned to face the eldest sibling who raised an eyebrow.

"It's Kanan Skywalker." The boy said. Ezra stopped for a moment as he looked at the boy, a small grin on his face.

"Any idea why your parents named you that?"

"My mom says she named us after Jedi that appeared to her in her time of need."

Ezra and Jacen faced each other, regarding each other. It was as if they had been told some welcome news they hadn't been expecting.

"I think we all have a lot to talk about." Said the Old man once more.

Sitting around a table, Kanan sat in between his sister and younger brother. The lightsaber he had first picked up, the one with the small black pattern at the bottom was. He had given the other one back to his sister. Meanwhile, BB-8 and Chopper were engaged in their own back and forth.

"We can definitely get you a new hand once we get to Coruscant." Jacen assured.

"So, what's the deal with the old man, Pops?" Korbin said, he sat a little bit near the siblings, but also keeping about a foot of distance. Ezra sat at the edge of the table while Jacen stood.

"Korbin, this is Ezra Bridger. He was your grandfather's Padawan, and I guess now he's a Jedi Knight in his own right." Jacen said.

"He's the Ezra?" Korbin said, raising an eyebrow. "I was starting to think he was just an imaginary friend you and grandma made up."

"Far from it, my boy." Ezra said with a chuckle. "And I was a Jedi Knight long before my hair went gray, Jacen."

The trio chuckled, while the siblings sat. "And what were you doing with those Sith guys?" Aayla asked.

"Let's take it slowly." Ezra said, turning to look at the group in its entirety. "I used to travel with Jacen's father, a Jedi Knight, the one you're named after," he said pointing at Kanan. "-Kanan Jarrus. Born Caleb Dume. He was a padawan during the Jedi Purge, he escaped, and trained me. We went on a number of adventures together, but he died saving us."

"There were more Jedi out there after the Purge other than Ben Kenobi?" Asked Kanan.

"Ah, Ben Kenobi." Ezra smirked. "That's a name I've not thought of in a long time. Is that who you're named after, my boy?" He said looking over towards Ben Skywalker, who nodded in return.

"Mom says he was the first Jedi who ever spoke to her." He added.

Ezra grinned in approval, the kid was already on his good side. "The last time I saw everybody, we had to fight Grand Admiral Thrawn, and to finally defeat him and his goons, I sent us deep into Unknown Space. It was there that we landed on a planet called Thanatos."

"I've never heard of Thanatos." Korbin replied.

"Kid, there is a three planet system in the Unknown Regions that we don't even know about." Ezra replied. "As for what I was doing in the Unknown Regions, and in Thanatos, well… That's a story for another time. However, about twenty years ago, I felt the battle of Exegol. I witnessed a crashing light shoot through the sky and straight into the Heavens of the Unknown Regions."

"Mom." Aayla said, looking at her brothers.

"Precisely," Ezra told the younger girl. "What you may not have known is, after that, there was an immense darkness that began to surround the Unknown Region."

"An immense darkness?" Kanan asked. "Like… The Dark Side?"

"The only darkness there ever was, Kanan." Repeated to old Jedi. "It was something I'd never felt in my life."

"Like what?" The eldest boy asked again.

"Like the pure embodiment of evil, my boy." He replied. "I went to Exegol to investigate it. What I saw was simultaneously both the scariest and most wonderful thing I'd seen… A rift in the sky, as if someone had cut right through it. I knew whatever was attempting to breach the rift, it was not going to be good. I took my ship and I followed your mother's presence off the planet. I believe whatever was trying to come out knew my intentions, because on my way out, a bolt of lightning struck and I was sent crashing straight into Wild Space… Right into Kesh. A place that almost felt like a magnet for darkness."

Kanan's eyes widened. Kesh? His parents had just gone to Kesh, it was why the homestead had been defenseless.

"What happened in Kesh?" Kanan asked, grabbing both Aayla and Ben's wrists under the table, giving a tight squeeze as if to let them know not to mention Kesh before he said they could.

"I went from one darkness, into another… Tell me, have you ever heard of the Lost Tribe of the Sith?" Ezra asked. The three kids shook their heads. "Thousands of years ago Naga Sadow led the Sith Order -much different to the Sith we know- during a large scale conflict, one of the ships in his Armada crash landed on the planet of Kesh. Sith- Every last one of them. They tricked the Keshirians into believing they were their Gods, they stayed, they started their own Sith Kingdom, the planet under their rule, unable to leave… Until twenty years ago, when I crash-landed there."

"And then what happened?" Asked Ben.

"I felt the strong presence in the dark side, in my hazed state, they captured me. Tortured me on information to the outside world, until I told them about the rift and how we had to stop it. They seemed to know what it was. Shortly after, Thrawn's Star Destroyer landed on Kesh with no one piloting it. The Sith on Kesh began to reverse engineer the technology and build an armada and weapons of their own with old ships that kept appearing on the planet."

"Are you saying they just appeared like that? Out of thin air?" Kanan asked.

"I wasn't saying that." Ezra said. "Whatever that darkness is, it's aiding the Lost Sith. They quickly found out that the Sith had fallen in the rest of the world over the last thousand years. And now they want to finish what Naga Sadow started."

"So… Why attack a group of kids?" Korbin asked.

"These aren't just any kids." Jacen said. "They're Skywalkers."

"From what I gathered, they were after your mother and father, the last Jedi, they believe they, and myself, are the only ones capable of stopping them. They kept me prisoner and they planned to wipe out any resistance, they used me because they needed information I had, that's why I was on the ship."

"What kind of information?" Asked Jacen.

"The location of Ziost." Said Ezra. "The old Sith homeworld, hidden for centuries. I saw it when I was in the World between Worlds."

The siblings looked at each other in confusion. "It's a long story." The Jedi said. "Once we landed near the homestead, I felt a powerful force presence." He motioned towards Ben. "Enough that I could muster some energy to warn him, and get him to help me." Looking back at Kanan, he cleared his throat. "Now, since your parents aren't at the homestead, do you know where we could find them?"

"Kesh." Kanan replied.

Ezra's mouth dropped, in shock. He looked at Jacen and Korbin. "We're going to need the Republic's help."

Within a while, The Ghost entered Coruscant. A ship that had not only participated in the Battle of Crait, and Endor, but as well as had been at the Battle of Exegol, the Republic military base recognized it.

The Republic Military base on Coruscant was just a mere block away from where the ruins of the old Jedi temple used to be. The place that had become the Imperial Palace during the age of the Empire, then a New Republic base after it's fall, only to be retaken by the First Order, and now once again belonged to the Republic. Instead, however, they rebuilt the old Jedi temple, keeping it as a monument in remembrance of the Jedi of the past.

The military base was covered by a domed energy field. Two large towers, various hangars, and a large U shaped building that seemed to be the HQ for the Republic Military. The kids had never been here, but they recognized it when they saw it.

As the group exited The Ghost, followed by BB-8 and Chopper, they were welcomed by an armed group of about a dozen or so Republic soldiers, led by a woman with blonde hair and a confident smile on her face. She was rather skinny, but held her chest up high. "Syndulla, we weren't expe-" Her thoughts vanished when she spotted the Skywalker children. "How did you find them?" A voice of relief.

Kanan raised an eyebrow. "Do we know you?" He asked.

"No, but I'd recognize Finn and Rey's kids anywhere." The woman said. "I'm Commander Kydel Ko Connix, I'm the Senior Controller on this base. I fought with your parents in the war against the First Order."

"Nice to meet you, Commander Connix." Ezra said. "I'm Ezra Bridger, Jedi Knight."

"Jedi K-" Commander Connix turned to Jacen. "Is this guy serious?"

"It's a long story." Jacen said.

"How'd you come across the children?" She asked. "We sent out a team to pick them up, bet when we got there, all that was there was rubble."

"There was an attack on our homestead." Kanan said. "My sister lost a hand." Motioning at Aayla, who just sheepishly showed the stump on her arm. Connix looked at the injury, a clear face of empathy, that was something no child needed to go through.

"Take her to our med bay and see about preparing a replacement hand for the young lady." Said the Commander. Aayla looked at Kanan, who nodded trustingly. She then followed a soldier into the left side of the HQ. "Who attacked them?"

"Sith." Ezra replied.

"Sith?" Connix repeated, not believing a word.

"It's true, ma'am. I saw it with my own eyes." Said Jacen. "Ezra here was my father's Padawan, he was a prisoner on Kesh for years."

Connix looked at the two of them, as well as Korbin and the Skywalker brothers. "Follow me."  
They followed her into the building, long white corridors of soldiers shuffling around, running and seemingly getting ready. Something was going on, and Kanan was beginning to fear the worst.

"What happened to our parents?" Kanan asked.

Connix looked back as she walked, particularly eyeing Ben. "Can someone take the little one somewhere?"

"What?" Asked Ben. "I'm not going anywhere! I want to know what happened to my mom and dad!"

Connix stopped and looked at Kanan, pleadingly. This told him it was something serious. There was a moment of hesitation from him.

"Ben-" He began, but he was cut off by his younger brother.

"No, Kanan!" Argued Ben.

"Listen!" Exclaimed Kanan, trying to get his younger brother under control. He leaned down, putting a shoulder on his hand and running a hand through his curly hair. "I promise you -as soon as I figure out what's going on- I will tell you. But right now I need you to listen to the Commander and go to the Quarters."

Ben looked at his brother for a moment. "You promise?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" Replied Kanan.

"Remember that time you said you had a girlfriend but instead you were just going out in the desert to tug on your-"

"AlrightBenOffYouGo!" Kanan said, pushing him towards the Officer, waiting to take him somewhere.

"I'll go with the kid." Korbin said, looking over at Kanan with a grin, and then at his father. "You wanna hear a story about how we met some giant space squids?"

"Yeah!" Ben grinned as he followed Korbin and the officer.

Connix turned to Kanan, Jacen, and Ezra, as well as the remaining soldiers she had with her. As they continued to walk, they would enter a giant control room. A holographic map the size of a house, maps all around, communications systems. Droids every, causing BB-8 to get excited at the prospect of making new friends, while Chopper stayed behind with Jacen.

In the center was a large circular table with the insignia of the Republic on it. Around the table stood leaders. There were two empty spots, Kanan assumed those were his fathers and Poe's. There was one meant for Connix, as she quickly took her place.

Three more people stood there, Dathomirian Zabrak with the name Commander Besalisk. There was a blue Twi'lek woman, her name being Captain Lek. And at the very age of the table stood a human woman, tall and strong, she was beautiful. Black raven hair and piercing green eyes, she stood seriously.

"Commander Connix, why have you brought strangers into this meeting?" Asked the woman.

"President Law," She began. This caught Kanan's attention. So this was Solana Law, the president of the Republic. "This is Jacen Syndulla, he's a mercenary."

"Except I get hired to steal things and occasionally fight bad guys." He smirked.

"And with him is Ezra Bridger, he claims to be a Jedi."

Ezra rolled his eyes. Even in his old age, there was still some youth to him. "There's no claim to be made, President Law. I am a Jedi."

Solana Law watched him for a moment, as if she was willing to believe he was a jedi, just for the moment. "And the kid?"

"Rey and Finn Skywalker's eldest son."

Law stood up from her seat, eyeing Kanan. "Have they been told already?" She asked Connix.

"Told what?"

There was a silence in the room, it seemed no one wanted to say it. For a moment, Kanan began to suspect the worst. "A few days ago, the Republic received a distress call from Kesh." Connix said. "Yesterday, your parents, along with General Dameron, as well as Commanders Calrissian and Tico went to investigate it and the Republic fleet was shot down and sent crashing into the planet. Some of the people on board made it out in escape pods, but those five didn't."

Kanan's heart sunk to his stomach. It was hard not to immediately imagine the worst had happened to his mother. Hell, the last thing he had done was all but ignore his father's attempt at a goodbye and now he was worried he'd never see him again.

President Law stood up, walking over to the young boy. "Now, Kana-"

"What're you going to do about it?" Asked the boy.

"We're sending one of our best teams tonight." Law replied.

"A team?!" Asked Kanan, outraged. "They took out an entire fleet with my parents on it and you want to send a team ?!"

"The kid's right, a team won't do you much good against what we're facing." Replied the old Jedi.

"And you know what it is we're facing?" Asked Law.

"Hundreds of Sith Lords and an army of billions that have been convinced for thousands of years that these people are their Gods."

"Sith?" Asked Law, laughing. "This old man cannot be serious."

"I'm afraid he is, ma'am." Connix confirmed. "They attacked the Skywalker Homestead attempting to assassinate Finn and Rey, except they weren't there. They were on their way to Kesh."

Law looked shocked. "Sith?" She asked. "Hundreds?"

"Now you see why you can't send in a measly team?" Said Kanan.

"No. If anything, this makes me want to stick to my plan even more." Replied Law matter-of-factly.

"Well here I was thinking we made some progress." Chimed in Jacen.

"They clearly want us to send more people so they can trap us. If we send a fleet now, we might be playing into their plan." Said the President.

"Or you doom two of the last Jedi left and the leader of your military." Said Ezra.

Law looked at Connix and they took each other in momentarily. "Call in Admiral's Crano and Kin, we're going to need a new plan." Law said, Connix nodded and went off on her way. "You three," She said to the men. "Stick around."

"You're not going to let us help you with the plan?" Jacen asked.

Law laughed as she exited the room with the other Commanders in tow.

"I guess that's a no." Said Ezra.

Jacen Syndulla had gone to check on his son and Ben Skywalker, meanwhile Kanan was walking straight towards the med-bay to see his sister, who was in the process of receiving a robot hand implant.

As he walked, the old Jedi Ezra Bridger followed closely behind. "So what's the plan here, Mr. Bridger?"

"It's Ezra." He said. "And the plan is to wait and see what Law says. I have to help put a stop to the Sith, and right now, with the unclear status of your parents, I may be the only thing that can stop them."

"That sounds pretty arrogant, Ezra." Kanan replied.

"That's Mr. Bridger to you." Shot back the much older Jedi Knight.

"If you haven't noticed," Kanan said, motioning at the black belt of his black, slightly torn around the knee's pants. There hung one of the lightsabers that had been buried near the homestead.

"Yes, I have. I meant to tell you to be careful with that, you could really hurt someone,"

"Hurt some- Are you serious, right now?"

"What?"

"I can help, Ezra. I can fight." Kanan assured.

Ezra looked at him for a moment and chuckled. "You're a kid, Kanan. These Sith… They aren't like anything we've faced before. An order of Sith, not just two like there have been the last few thousand years."

"I think we held our own during that fight, I mean, at least I did." Replied the young boy.

"You gave a beating to an apprentice and a master toyed with you when he could have killed you at any moment. Your sister lost a hand to the other apprentice." Said Ezra.

Kanan gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, angry. Yet another person who didn't believe he had what it took. What was it that made everyone think he would be a tremendous disappointment.

"Then teach us." He said, stopping in his tracks, just slightly a ways from where Aayla would probably be testing out her new hand.

Ezra looked at him for a moment, only to let out a hearty laugh, and then he stopped. "No."

Kanan was starting to get frustrated. "I've never wanted to punch an old man in the face so much in my life."

"Trust me, kid, I can make you hate me a whole lot more." Said Ezra.

Kanan shook his head. "Tell me, wasn't it my brother who freed you from your little prison?"

"Yeah? That kid's incredibly powerful in the Force, I've never seen anything like it. I'm both sad and happy that I'm probably not gonna be around to see him grow up with that." He chuckled, then looked at Kanan. "Hell, I can sense all three of you are really strong in the force, the little one more than usual, but that doesn't mean you're ready to be Jedi."

"Our parents have been training us to be Jedi."

"Exactly. To be. "

Kanan opened his mouth one more time to protest, but Ezra put his hand up. "Save it, kid. I'm not changing my mind."

Ezra continued forward and Kanan, grit his teeth in frustration, anger building up. And then he took a deep breath, bowing his head in defeat, following the Jedi.

They would then enter the Med room that Aayla Skywalker had been in. The middle child was stood up, swinging the golden cylinder lightsaber that she had picked up, the second buried outside their homestead.

"Oh please don't tell me I have to have this talk again." Ezra said.

"What?" Asked Aayla in confusion.

"I'm not going to train you." Said the old Jedi.

"But I didn't even ask-"

"No is no. Final answer."

"Hey-"

"Anyway," Ezra interrupted. He looked at her hand in approval. "How is it?"

Aayla looked at him for a moment, but then shook her head and accepted what had happened had actually just happened. She turned the lightsaber off, clipping it back to her belt. "It'll take some getting used to, but it's good." She turned to look at her older brother. "What's the matter with Sour-Bantha face over there?"

"He's mad because he can't have what he wants," Said Ezra. Kanan opened his mouth to protest but was ignored by the other two parties. "And also because… Your parents crashed on Kesh, we believe they might be there."

Aayla's eyes widened. "What? So the Sith have them?"

"We don't know that yet, that's what we're waiting on they're-"

And suddenly they were interrupted by a noise. All the lights had gone off, and it had been pitch black for a moment. And then the emergency lights came on. The red hue that covered what had been once piercing bright white rooms showed the confused faces of the three.

And then almost as if out of nowhere…

An explosion.


	5. Chapter 5

There was a blur of red that came in to Finn's Skywalker's eyes as he awoke. It was confusing, his body felt weird, it felt sore. The last thing he remembered was everybody holding on as they made an impact on the planet. Poe sat in the command chair, buckled up, Finn and Rey sat next to each other, holding hands, as did Jannah and Rose.

But now that he was waking up and his eyes were calibrating, he began to look around in his surroundings. The first thing he had noticed, he was hanging in a cage, with blue glowing cuffs around his wrists and ankles. The way his extremities felt numb, he only guessed it was meant making it harder for him to connect to the Force.

He was in a large great hall, it was empty, but it looked like a caste. Finn had never seen anything like it. The cage he was trapped in was atop an altar. There were two spiral staircases going down to the bottom floor, which he assumed was the pew if he was on the altar.

"He's awake." He heard. To his side, he saw two hooded figures watching him. Getting a better look, one man was slightly purple skinned, yet still looked human, were as the other was a pale human.

"Where am I?" Finn tried to wrestle with his restraints. He realized that while still in his clothes, his lightsaber was nowhere near him.

"On Kesh, filthy devil." Said the Purple-skinned man.

"Filthy devil?" Asked Finn, confused and even slightly offended. He looked at them and took a deep breath. "You want to let me go and drop your weapons." He said, attempting to mind trick them.

The response he got was not the one he had been expecting. His windpipe began to close on itself as he realized he was being Force Choked. Whoever these people were, he had severely underestimated them.

But then the hold on him was released. "You think you can corrupt my mind with filthy Jedi Tricks?" Said the Human male.

"Calm yourself, Korsin." Said the Purple skinned man, establishing himself as older. "There is much to do with him yet."

"Who are you people?" Asked Finn. "Where are my friends? Where is my wife?"

"You are in no position to ask questions, filth." Said the Purple man. "Your mere survival depends on our mercy. But since you are so curious, I shall tell you. You sit in the great Sith Temple of Kesh."

"Keep dreaming., we killed the last Sith." Replied Finn.

"Arrogance will not do you well as a prisoner. Let me kill him, Lord Hilts." The human man said, Korsin.

"That Sith was but a mere imposter. The remnant of a once great Order, one that we will bring back once we've destroyed this makeshift Republic of yours and we find the great Sith Meditation Sphere."

"The what-a-what? Who are you?" Asked Finn.

"Greetings, I am Varner Hilts, leader of the Sith Order and a Keshirian. As for the other thing, something you need not worry about. For you are part of a far greater step in our plan. " Said Hilts.

"I don't care at all. What plan is that?"

Hilts smirked and stepped forward, taking off his hood. He was indeed purple skinned, long white hair and a long white beard, as well as a scar going down his face. "Your wife, we felt a strength in her unlike any we've felt in quite a long time. She'll serve us another way."

"If you hurt her I swear-"

Once again, he began to get choked. "I told you, you are in not position to be arrogant." Hilts said. "You have a certain strength yourself, one I'm not afraid to admit I respect. I may even give you a respectful death when I am done with you."

"The Republic'll stop you." Finn replied.

"The only people in the Republic that could stop us are our prisoners." The younger man said. "Who would've thought that when we sent people to you, you'd come straight to us."

Finn raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I sent my finest people to kill the last living Skywalkers, it turns out they were on the ship we captured. We planned to kill the Force sensitives and take the rest, much like we did with that little team you sent, we wouldn't expect the last two Jedi to risk themselves like that."

Hilts then began to speak. "All that was left for our team in Tatoonie was three little children to take care of."

Finn's heart dropped to his stomach as he heard that. He felt his ears begin to grow hot. "If you touched them-"

He was interrupted by Hilts throwing a hand on the ground. A small brown human hand, one that seemed to materialize all of Finn's fears. He looked back up at the man, anger burning in his eyes. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Our team met some… Resistance at your homestead. Quickly taken care of, however." Hilts said with a grin.

With that, the two men began to walk out of the great hall, leaving a struggling Finn furious, wondering as to what was going on, and in wonder of where his wife and friends were.

In a lower level of the Sith Temple, in almost a prison yard with cells, each containing a different amount of Republic soldiers that had survived the crash: Poe, Rose, and Jannah were all put in one cell together. A big mistake for the Sith.

As soon as three Keshirian guards walked past them, Poe turned back to his friends. "This is bad. We need to escape from here, we need to find Finn, and we need to find Rey."

"Finn's close." Jannah said. "I can feel him. I don't know where Rey is."

"Eh," Poe shook his head. "If you ever need to find Rey you find Finn first, everyone knows that."

"So what's the plan, oh-fearless leader?" Asked Rose.

Poe tried to peek out the cell, but to no avail. "They're going to start separating us any second."

Jannah looked for a moment, before her eyes lit up. "I have a plan." She said, she pulled them closer, whispering it to them. Poe looked at her. "It's kind of risky." He said.

"What other choice do we have?" Asked Rose. "I'm with her."

"That's not fair, you're always with her!"

Rose looked over at Jannah, a small smile shared between the two before they kissed and parted. "You're damn right I am."

Poe sighed, looking at them. He then sighed and dropped to the ground, pretending he was choking to death.

"Guards! Guards!" Jannah called out. "Help!"  
Three Keshirian guards returned, running towards the cell. "What's going on here?"

Jannah, who was acting panicked, took a moment to look at them as if they were stupid. "He's choking! Can't you see?"

They got closer, and as soon as they did, Jannah's fist clenched and she pulled towards her. The force pushed the guards heads against the metal bars, effectively knocking them out.

"I cannot believe that worked." Poe said, immediately stopping the fake choking. Jannah ran to where the two guards had gotten knocked out, pulling one closer and searching him before finding the key to the cell.

She would open it and drag the three knocked out guards towards them, inside the cell.

Within moments, the trio were dressed in the Sith Guard clothing the Keshirians wore, putting on the helmets to cover their appearance.

"Follow me." Jannah said as they exited.

Back on the Republic Military Base, all hell had broken loose. That explosion hadn't been a figment of their imagination. A Ballistic SD had hit the domed military base in Coruscant and immediately after, hundreds of small black Starfighters, the look of which had never been seen before were swarming the skies of Coruscant.

"A Warship has just jumped out of Hyperspace! We are under attack! I repeat, we are under attack! This is not a drill!"

Ezra, Kanan, and Aayla all looked at the intercoms and turned to each other. "They're here." Said Ezra.

They exited into the hall, and ran outside, where red alarms were going off, soldiers were running around even more panicked than before. They were getting their weapons ready. Pilots were on their way to the hangars to attempt and fight what was happening.

In the skies, dozens of batlike Starfighters began to swarm and shoot around the city of Coruscant. Kanan and Aayla were both left shocked, they had never seen anything like this. A grand scale battle.

Past them ran various pilots, getting into X-Wings, Y-Wings, Carriers, all getting up to the sky as soon as they could. Meanwhile, the jet black starfighters began to fire upon the city.

And then suddenly, it appeared.

A giant mega-class warship, pitch black. There was a large crystal visor in its front, various weapons all around it. It almost looked like a hawk, except it was a hawk big enough to block out the sun.

"What's that?" Aayla asked, awestruck.

"That's one of their warships, the Omen II , named after the ship they crashed in." Answered Ezra.

Within moments, small shuttles fell from the Omen. Kanan could only assume they were soldiers ready for the ground attack.

All around them, explosions began to occur. The three took cover as the soldiers landed on the ground. It seemed they were storming the base. "You think they're looking for you?" Asked Kanan.

"If they were, this is not the way to do it." Ezra said. "They're destroying the city." For the first time since Kanan had met the old Jedi, he saw fear in the man's face. It was comforting to know he was human, but discomforting because he knew that meant that this was something way out of their control.

They ran back inside, bolting down the corridors until they ran into the President and Commander Connix.

"Commander!" Ezra exclaimed. "It's them- It's the Sith."

"None of our signals picked them up." Connix said, rather worried and surprised.

"They're attacking the city." Law said. "We have to fight back, we cannot leave the city defenseless."

"Then what do we do?" Asked Kanan.

Ezra looked at Connix and Law, unsure of what to say. Connix would step forward, but before she could say anything, entrances blew open and fire began to regan. An all out assault had erupted.

In came dozens of soldiers, clad in black tactical uniforms and helmets with black visors, led by men clad in the same uniforms but red. They were led by others in black clothing, their faces uncovered, holding red lightsabers. From what Kanan could see. Republic soldiers fought back, the lightsaber wielders -the Sith-, deflected the blasts easily, cutting down anyone they came across.  
Behind them, their soldiers shot back, taking men down. "We have to go, RUN!" Exclaimed Ezra. The group began to run down the free corridor, narrowly avoiding blaster fire. As they ran, the Old self-proclaimed Jedi stopped, opening his black robe, revealing his lightsaber hilt. Taking it in his hand, he turned it on and the green blade emitted from it.

Kanan watched him as the four Sith neared him, soldiers in tow. Behind them, Republic soldiers began firing at the foot soldiers. That included Connix and Law, who had picked up blasters on the ground and began firing. Kanan and Aayla took cover before the older brother stared down his younger sister.

"Go find Ben." Kanan told his sister, looking at the lightsaber. "We have to get off this planet."

Aayla looked at her older brother, doubting her ability to do so, but then he put a hand on her new hand and her saber. "Mom was right, you have to trust in yourself a lot more… And I can't do this without you."

Aayla looked at her older brother for a moment and then she took a deep breath. "We'll meet at the Ghost , stay safe, please." She told her brother.

Kanan shot her a little smirk. They clasped hands and regarded each other, and with that Aayla was off towards where the Force led her to her brother.

Kanan took a deep breath and focused. "Be with me." He said. This was his chance to prove to everyone he had what it took to be a Jedi, he was going to show them he was worthy of the Skywalker name.

And then he activated the lightsaber. He didn't yet know the history behind this lightsaber, all he knew is that using it felt right .

He turned to where Ezra had begun to engage the fourth sith, the old man not seeming so old when he swung his saber. The force rejuvenated him.

And suddenly, Kanan was in the fight. He dashed past Ezra and fought one of the Sith, and older man. "Kid-" Ezra said, blocking a hit from two different light sabers. "Get out of here!" He exclaimed.

One Sith almost got the best of Ezra, but a blast hit her in the head, one shot from a certain Commander Connix. The Sith woman fell to the ground. "Nice shot, commander!"

Kanan didn't listen. Instead, he took on the Sith man, he would slash, and the young Skywalker would prove his agility by dodging hits quickly before he jumped up and kicked the man square in the chest with his two feet, knocking him back.

The Sith cried out in pain, and then angrily shot out his hand, hoping to choke him. For a moment, Kanan felt his breath cut off, but then he grit his teeth and he fought back mentally, breaking out of his grip and pushing the Sith full speed ahead into a group of the troopers, effectively taking them all out of the battle.

That left Ezra dealing with the final Sith, who had a double bladed red lightsaber. He was proving to be a worthy opponent. He was quickly tiring the old Jedi. But he didn't know Kanan Skywalker was after him next. He slashed the blue blade straight through the hilt of the dual bladed lightsaber, breaking it. Without hesitation, Ezra slashed his green blade straight through the neck of the sith, beheading him.

The old man, having proved himself in the face of the Republic Soldiers as a Jedi, then brought his hands together, a pure ball of light side force energy and shot it straight to the approaching troopers, blinding them and sending them tumbling.

"Let's go!" Law said. "We have to get the Jedi out of here!"

Ezra and Kanan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, President?" Asked Ezra.

"I can see what is necessary. The Jedi are the only ones who can stop this threat. Can we trust you?" The President said.

"Well- Yeah? But what are you implying?" Asked the old Jedi, once again.

"You guys have to get out of here, we have to save the last Jedi so you guys can fight this threat, we have to keep Coruscant resisting." President Law said.

"Absolutely not." Said Kanan. "I want to get my parents back, but we can't leave the Republic to fight this itself. "

"Right now, you're the last hope of the Republic, you'll need your parents to fight this, and only you can get them back." Connix told Kanan.

Ezra was quiet for a moment, very hesitant. He did not feel right about this.

"This is the plan now, Bridger, that's what I'm saying." Law told him. He looked at her and he sighed, nodding.

"Let's go, kid." Ezra said to Kanan. The young boy was ready to protest but Ezra spoke before he could. "I'll train you. I was wrong, you're ready to become a Jedi."

Kanan's eyes widened. And with that, he followed Ezra, presumably heading towards The Ghost where he hoped Aayla and Ben would meet them, along with Korbin and Jacen Syndulla.

Meanwhile, Aayla Skywalker had been running towards the Quarters that Ben had been taken to. It was some ways from the Med-Bay area they had been in. She had begun to run, mustering all the stamina the force could give her, breathing in and out heavily, centering the focus of the Force with her breath.

Feel it flow through you, Aayla.

The voice of a woman rang in her ears. A woman that had lived generations before her, the woman who had owned the lightsaber she currently held.

The Force is strong in you.

As a trooper neared her, she deflected his blasts and slashed him straight across the chest, and he fell.

Continue the Journey I started, the journey that your mother inherited, the one you shall continue. Protect those you love… Protect Kanan… Protect your father… Protect your mother… Protect **Ben...**

When the voice said the name Ben, another voice spoke, the voice of her mother. Those words awoke something in her, for now instead of running with fear, she ran with determination.

She quickly came upon a Sith, who was mowing down Republic soldiers. Using a burst of force energy, she ran on the wall, the tip of the blue blade dragging it's edge on the floor. She jumped off and kicked the unsuspecting Sith straight in the head before plunging the blade straight through his chest.

The Republic soldiers stared at the girl with awe. She shot them back a smile before she continued on her way.

Moments later she would come across the wing in which Ben was meant to be. It was then that amidst the running Republic Soldiers, Sith Troopers, and Sith Warriors that she spotted them. Korbin and Jacen Syndulla, armed with blasters and with the youngest of the Skywalker clan between them, fighting back against the Sith.

When one of the Red-Lightsaber-Wielding Sith's neared them, Aayla parried his attack. He chucked in amusement as he slapped her straight across the face, sending her tumbling back.

Ben Skywalker did not like this. His brow furrowed, angry at having his sister get hurt like that pushed his hands out and almost sent the Sith smacking straight into the wall. However, as surprised as he was, he managed to fight back just in time.

That, however, had been the distraction Aayla needed to finally listen to her mother and not be scared of the damage she could cause. Focusing her hands together, a strong ball of gray force energy was sent flying straight towards the Sith Lord, causing him to be sent flying down the corridor.

And for a moment, there was peace. Aayla looked at her little brother, who smiled back at her. She took a step near him until the sound of beeping sounded. There was confusion, and then Aayla looked down at one of the Red Sith Troopers that had been taken out, who had just pressed a button. His visor began to beep rapidly.

Aayla and Jacen both realized what it was, but it was too late.

An explosion erupted, Aayla was sent flying back, feeling the heat and burn from the fire, as the floor caved in on itself and they began to fall straight through the floor, Aayla summoned some force energy, whatever she could muster help her not die during this landing. And as her back hit the ground, she realized that most big debris landed around her. However small pieces of shrapnel had given her multiple cuts and bruises.

As she managed to get back up, she realized that it had blown a hole in the building, they were on the outside now. Her ears were ringing, she could feel warm blood pouring down her head. Her robotic hand had been damaged. Though it had first had a glove that made it look like her skin, that was all damaged, all that was left were the robotic fingers.

She managed to push up to her feet, wondering where the hell it was that she had ended up.

It was all rubble.

Then her heart froze. "Ben?" She called out. There was no answer. "Ben!" She exclaimed once again. She began to breath in and out again, trying to get some stamina. She looked around, but there was no sign of the youngest Skywalker.

The feeling of dread she was getting was worse than the pain of having lived through a bomb detonation. "Ben?!" She called out again, near tears.

As she turned a corner, she came around two figures. One was lying on the floor, stiff and still. In the distance, Aayla could see a large piece of debris had pierced his chest. The other one seemed to be mourning him.

She grew more horrified as she neared them, their two forms becoming much familiar.

On the floor, lifeless was Jacen Syndulla. Crying over him, Korbin Syndulla watched. Her mouth dropped open. She hadn't known Jacen for a long time, but he had saved her and her brothers from certain death, he had a son, he had a life.

Then the other thing was that it felt as if she was feeling Korbin's pain, through the force. As if she knew exactly what he was going through, and exactly what he needed. She knelt down, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." She said.

Korbin looked at her, tears running down. She could feel it. He wanted to be angry at her, he wanted to blame her and her family for getting her father involved in this mess. But the young Syndulla was a good man, because Jacen had been a good man, they knew there was only one side to blame for this. They knew that Jacen Syndulla had been a hero long before Korbin had even been born, at the Battle of Scarif, at the battle of Exegol.

And now, here he lied, losing his life. Jacen's head moved slightly to look at his son. "Don't… Give up." He told him, and with that, the light in his eyes faded.

Aayla hugged Korbin, he hugged her back, they took each other in for a moment before Korbin looked at the young Skywalker girl. "Where's your brother?" He asked. 

Her worries came flying back. "I-I don't know, I'm trying to find him." She said, fighting back the tears.

The sound of Troopers near them made them duck and hide. "I think we have to go." Said Korbin.

"No!" Aayla protested. "I have to find my brother. I have to."

Korbin looked at her, he didn't want to turn back to face his father. He couldn't he was hurt, he wasn't going to stop being hurt for a while. But he knew what his father fought for, he knew the risks, and when he had chosen to travel with him, he took up that same responsibility.

"If we get killed it won't do your brother any good." He told her.

She looked at him, she looked back, hoping Ben would appear. She couldn't go back, not without him.

"I understand, trust me." He told her. "But right now I think you guys are our only hope. We have to make these people pay."

Aayla looked out one last time, hoping she would feel something… Anything. But there was nothing, and that scared her.

"Aayla, we have to go." Korbin said, wiping tears out of his face. She gritted her teeth, her heart beating hard.

They began to run towards they had parked the Ghost, sneaking past Troopers and Sith. That was when they saw it was surrounded by the Ghost. Someone had tipped them off, they recognized it.

As the two surveyed the area, they saw the Strike Team of Sith that had attacked them on Tatooine. Rhea leading them, while Xal followed with his young apprentice Raas, who had a black eye. Not one she remembered Kanan giving him. The girl who cut her hand was also there.

"Over there." Korbin pointed out. In the distance they saw Kanan waving over at them, across the landing strip, where they stood in a hanger right next to the…

"The Falcon!" Aayla yelled-whispered to herself. With one final look, Korbin and Aayla ran towards him, past the troopers, finally reaching the eldest brother and the Jedi Knight.

"Hey- Where's Ben?" Asked Kanan.  
"And Jacen?" Asked Ezra.

Korbin took a deep breath, Ezra seeing the tears well up in his eyes. This was another first, now Ezra looked heart broken, hurt. "No…" He said, stepping back. "No."

Kanan also looked shocked. He'd just become friends with Jacen, the first one to ever look at him as if he were impressive in his eyes. He looked back at his sister. "Aayla, if you tell me-"

"I couldn't find him." Aayla said, fighting back the tears that were already rolling down her cheeks.

Kanan looked bewildered. He stepped towards his sister. "What do you mean you couldn't find him?"

"One of the troopers detonated a bomb in his suit, that's how my father-" Korbin didn't finish the sentence. "We couldn't find your brother."

"Then we go back and keep looking for him." Kanan ordered.

"We… Can't do that." Ezra said, looking as if he hated himself for saying it.

"Excuse me?" Asked Kanan, turning on the man who had just agreed to be his master. "Are you expecting me to leave without my brother?"

"Yes, I am." Said Ezra. "I expect you to remember that there are more than hundreds of people on this base who just kept fighting so that we could escape."

"You can't ask me to-"

"I don't want to, kid, I really don't." Said Ezra. "But look around us, the stakes are too high. You wanted to be a Jedi? Sometimes Jedi have to make difficult choices."

Kanan looked at his master, at his weeping sister, and the weeping Korbin Syndulla, who had just lost his father. He inhaled, taking in the view. Coruscant just a short while ago had been the sight of Hope, and within hours it was being taken by invaders who had been planning their attack for a long time.

Kanan couldn't speak, he just bowed his head as he began to walk up the steps of the Millennium Falcon. One by one, he was followed by the remaining members of their team.


End file.
